WikiCell Whips Up $10M from Flagship and Polaris for Edible Food Packaging

WikiCell Designs, a startup based in Cambridge, MA, and Paris, France, said today it has closed $10 million in Series A funding led by Flagship Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners. The idea behind the company is to produce edible forms of food and beverage packaging that can replace paper and plastic—think about how nature protects fruits like grapes, oranges, and coconuts.

No word yet on exactly how it works (or how mainstream it could become), but the idea of digestible wrappers and skins to replace millions of tons of waste is an appealing one. The company already has demonstrated edible packaging (which is delicious, it adds) for juice, yogurt, ice cream, fruit, cheese, soup, and other items. WikiCell expects to release its first commercial products next year.